KIDS IN DISTRESS

I recently had the privilege to photograph a fundraiser benefit for KIDS IN DISTRESS at Abe & Louie’s in Boca.  Due to the success of the Foster Care/ Adoption Programs, KID has been invited to expand its work into Palm Beach County.

Community volunteers and the Junior League of Greater Fort Lauderdale founded KIDS IN DISTRESS as a shelter for victims of child abuse. The mission of KIDS IN DISTRESS is to prevent child abuse, preserve the family and treat children who have been abused and neglected.  KID serves more than 8,000 children and their families each year.

KIDS IN DISTRESS cares for and treats abused and neglected children through a full continuum of care that includes emergency shelters, therapeutic services, abuse prevention, foster care and adoption. The state-of-the-art pediatric dental clinic provides dental care to children who have no other access to these services.  The Eye Care Institute - offers low cost eye exams, glasses and other general eye care services to the public.

     

     

  KIDS IN DISTRESS depends on the community's continued support to provide children with much-needed care. Get involved and make a difference through activities such as Mark Vacker Photography’s Family Portrait Month. Not only do you win by getting to purchase a keepsake Family Portrait that will preserve the memory of your family and be passed on for generations, but also you win by knowing in your heart of the good that you have done for others.

Don’t Argue with the Teacher…. 

originally published by VSP workshops June 7, 2009

The 2009 McNally Lighting Workshop Kicks Off  - Venice, Italy

Day one on the lighting workshop usually starts off with a day in the palace, getting to grips with all the light-shaping tools that we’ll be using across the days. For the first day we don’t bring in the professional models yet- we let everybody iron out the creases, figure out their group dynamics….and use each other as models for today…..and what happens when somebody wants to be a model but teacher ain’t having it?? Face the wrath of Hamish McNally – the fiercest strobe warrior this side of the Grand Canal…

Who says Joe McNally knows more than I do?

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Mark Vacker Photography

It’s A Wild Life in the Galapagos Islands

Originally Published December 26th, 2011 


Prehistoric looking iguanas, roaring sea lions, creeping lava lizards, and deadly scorpions 
own the chain of volcanic 
black rocks which make up 
The Galapagos Islands.  



From ship to shore, wet landings and dry landings, the adventure never ends, as our eyes and minds are exposed to sights, which we have never before seen and which we will never ever forget.  

How many people can claim that they have seen penguins on the equator, or blue-footed boobies sunning themselves in the warm sun?  Giant crabs and mammoth tortoises roam the landscape inducing sensory overload.     

Sea turtles and seals dive the ocean waters amongst spawning stingrays and mammoth whales.   



Marvels of isolated evolution abound; the islands seem to appear and disappear among the mist of rocks of volcanic origin.  





The experience is absolutely unforgettable I am glad to say that “the memory can last forever” as it has been captured with digital images.

Giving Back

With a heart full of love and a desire to give back, it comes as no surprise that Mark Vacker Photography has been making appearances throughout the community to volunteer time and photography skills to a variety of charitable organizations. From Kids in Distress to the Broward Children’s Center, many charities have plucked at Mark’s heart strings, enabling him to support these wonderful causes with his talent.

             

We recently worked with Studio 18 in Pembroke Pines as they served the special needs community through the medium of art. Jill Slaughter, Curator of Special Projects for the City of Pembroke Pines put together a gallery exhibit of work by local artists, and invited the special needs community to create interpretations of the artwork and to hang their work in the gallery. The Pembroke Pines community and Whole Foods demonstrated their support for the special needs artists and gathered in an effort to raise funds for art supplies for the group.

                                           




















More recently we have photographed a fundraising event for Kids in Distress as they raised money at Abe & Louie’s Steakhouse in Boca Raton to aid in the expansion of their presence into Palm Beach County. Kids in Distress aims at preventing child abuse and aiding children who fall victim to this devastating act.

                                                         

As we look at what we’ve done and where we are going, we are incredibly excited and looking forward to the many events to come. We cannot wait to work with MACtown which serves the special needs community  in Miami, the Center for the Hearing and Communication, the American Lung 
Association, Arts for Learning and more!